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Zeno Bell and Dufort
Zeno and Dufort are two characters in Zatch Bell!, and two of the main villains of the manga. Biography Zeno (Zeon Bell in the Japanese version & English manga) is a mamodo who looks exactly like Zatch Bell, save for his pastier colors and purple eyes. His spells are the same as Zatch's, only more powerful; additionally, Zeno does not lose consciousness during the spells and thus knows what he is doing while they are being cast. His cloak also has magical abilities, allowing him to protect himself and his bookkeeper if he gets in trouble, and to teleport himself and his bookkeeper to another location. He is very powerful, malevolent and evil, and bears a strong hatred towards humans but more importantly towards Zatch. Dufort (Dufaux in the Japanese version) is his bookkeeper. He's very silent and reserved, almost to the point of having no emotion, and he has psychic abilities. Zeno is Zatch's twin brother and the cause of his amnesia. As it is revealed in the manga, their father is the king of the mamodo world: an electric elemental who possessed the ultimate power known as "Baou". When twins were born to him and his wife, the "Baou" power was inherited down to Zatch, making them fear for what would happen to him when he finally awakens it, as well as the jealousy of his brother when he found out. To protect both brothers, Zatch was sent away to live like a commoner, forced into near servitude by his foster mother and consistently teased and taunted by his classmates at a private school. Meanwhile, Zeno was forced to undertake a harsh, military training. When the silver-haired child found out about both his brother and the "Baou" power, he grew resentful, believing that this twin he never met would hold his father's ultimate ability without understanding the implications. With both children referred for the Mamodo Fight, Zeno continued his preparations, training his body as well as reading of certain items and artifacts that would assist him when sent to the human world. By the time Zeno was sent to take part in the Mamodo Fight, he took action in order to guarantee both his own victory and his brother's ultimate misery. After finding his bookkeeper, he tracked down Zatch to a forest in England, where he was living peacefully with the local fauna. Without saying who he was, Zeno brutally attacked the golden-haired lookalike, both physically abusing him and using his own spells to smash him down. But instead of burning his book, where he would instantly go home to his family and live peacefully in the mamodo world, he decided to remove his memories to force him to be stuck wandering around this strange, human world without any friends or any idea who he was. Shortly thereafter, Zatch was found by Seitaro Takamine, who eventually sent Zatch to Japan, so that Seitaro's son, Kiyo, could try to find out Zatch's origin, as well as to benefit Kiyo's personality. As for Dufort, his life was a total mystery, until he told his story to Kiyo and Zatch near the end of the Faudo saga. The story was quite different in the manga than in the anime. Anime: According to Dufort's story, he had powerful psychic abilities. For this reason, he was confined to an asylum, experimented on and possibly abused throughout nearly his entire life. He vowed to destroy humanity for what they did to him in the past. That hatred is what took Zeno's attention and came to release Dufort from the asylum. Manga: Dufort's tale has also been revealed as slightly different in the manga: he had been sold to a mad scientist by his own mother for a price of ten thousand dollars. The scientist subsequently performed mental and emotional experiments throughout his childhood, culminating with the passage of his ultimate test leading both to his own freedom and the destruction of the lab, revealed to be located at the North Pole. Forced to wander in the snow and cold for his own survival, he eventually encountered Zeno, who took him and made him his bookkeeper. The manga also revealed that Dufort possesses an ability known as "Answer Talker", which allows the user to understand how any attack is applied and how to defend against it. This awakens whenever a human "dies and then returns to life", such as Kiyo himself in the manga after he is killed by the mamodo Riou and then subsequently revived within Faudo tower. Zeno took interest in the immense tower of Faudo from the moment it first arrived in the human world, having done research on the locked away force within in the libraries of his home. After extensive preparation, he immediately took action, leading on Kiyo and Zatch towards the tower by use of a doll-like emissary that told them of the danger about to be revealed. However, while using his brother to help awaken the tower for Riou, all of his works was for his own ambition. Once Faudo was resurrected, Zeno challenged Riou in battle, upon which he immediately crushed him, sent him back and took over his control jewel. While he doesn't divert Faudo from its original mission (the destruction of Japan, as instructed by Riou), Zeno awakens the full capability of the beast, giving guardians inside new life and using its power to upgrade many of the mamodo previously fighting under Riou. All of these would give the remaining mamodo inside one difficult challenge after another as they moved upwards towards the destined showdown with him and Dufort. His book was burned by Zatch, but under radically different circumstances in the manga than in the anime, although in both versions the book is burned as a result of a struggle between Zatch's Bao Zakeruga and Zeno's Jigaridasu Uruzakeruga. He is resentful of Zatch to the end in the anime, breaking the jewel that controls Faudo out of spite. In the manga, Zeno becomes aware that Zatch had as hard a childhood as he did, and regrets his own foolishness. The jewel breaks due to the strain of their fight, and Zeno loans Zatch some of his power to help defeat Faudo. Although Dufort's fate is not determined at the end of the anime outside the escape from Faudo, he ends up wandering off in the manga after Zeno goes back, trying to find a purpose after being used for so long. Eventually he uses his "Answer Talker" abilities to help others whether he wants to or not, finally appreciating everything both Zeno and Zatch had done for him. He later returns to help Kiyo develop his Answer Talker ability and to assist in the fight against Clear Note. In conjunction with his Answer Talker, Dufort opens the heads of other mamodo in order to determine the training style each needs during the ten month lull while Clear recuperates within Goomu's dimension. In the original Japanese version, Zeon is voiced by Urara Takano and Dufaux is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa. In the VIZ Media dub, Zeno is voiced by Debi Derryberry (who also voices Zatch) and Dufort is voiced by Dave Wittenberg. VIZ's translations of the manga initially named the character Zeno as in the anime, but newer volumes have him named Zeon as in the original. Spells *[[Zakeru|'Zakeru']] : Zeno shoots a powerful bolt of lightning from his hand.(Attack) *[[Zakeruga|'Zakeruga']] : A concentrated beam of lightning fired from the palm.(Attack) *[[Teozakeru|'Teozakeru']] : The technique which creates a powerful thunderbolt from Zeno's hand. A powered-up version of Lightning Strike.(Attack) *[[Jauro Zakeruga|'Jauro Zakeruga']] : Shoots an enormous ring of electricity with many Zakerugas emenating from it. (Attack) *[[Barugirudo Zakeruga|'Barugirudo Zakeruga']] : Tremendous burst of lightning from above that fries the enemy.(Attack) *[[Raajia Zaker|'Raajia Zaker']] : Creates a shockwave of electricity. Manga-only attack, gained in chapter 263.(Attack) *[[Sorudo Zakeruga|'Sorudo Zakeruga']] : A huge sword with a blade made of lightning is summoned, which Zeno can hold and use as a physical weapon. This attack is only seen in the manga.(Attack) *[[Ganreizu Zakeru|'Ganreizu Zakeru']] : A multi-turret gun is summoned, allowing for several small blasts of lightning to be thrown out at the same time. Manga-only attack, revealed in chapter 259.(Attack) *[[Reedo Dirasu Zakeruga|'Reedo Dirasu Zakeruga']] : Zeno summons a huge circular object with many blades sticking out like a buzzsaw and is controlled by a small lightning bolt like a yo-yo. He is able to manipulate the electric yo-yo through the string to slice and smash through anything.(Attack) *[[Jigadirasu Uruzakeruga|'Jigadirasu Uruzakeruga']] : Zeno's strongest spell which summons a massive, winged thunder god. Said entity fires five thunderbolts from the holes/cannons on its body which merge into one tremendous Zakeruga blast. (Attack) Note: While the following four spells are only used in video games, Makoto Raiku later confirmed that Zeno does have them in the manga. *'Rashield' - Summons a shield in front. Any projectile that hits it will be reflected, damaging the opponent with a combination of their own attack and lightning energy. (video game only) *'Jikerdor' - An energy ball that magnetizes an opponent. (video game only) *'Rauzaruk' - A rainbow-colored lightning bolt hits Zeno and temporarily increases his strength and speed. However, no other spells can be used during this time. (video game only) *'Zaguruzemu' - A sphere of light that charges anything it strikes with electricity. *'Zeo Zakeruga': Zeno fires an electric white dragon from his hand that looks just like Bao Zakerga (video game only) Spellbooks they burned *Baltro, in London (for failing to defeat Zatch and Kiyo) (episode 20) *Rops, in the countryside of Holland (episode 42) *Zaruchimu, in Faudo's control room (episode 147 anime only) *Riou, outside of Faudo's control room (episode 147) *Riya, in Faudo's control room (Riya sacrified himself to save Zatch) (episode 148 anime only) *Momon, in Faudo's control room (with help from Rodeaux) (chapter 253 manga only) *Cherish, in a main hallway in Faudo (chapter 265 manga only) Trivia In the Clear Note Arc, Dufort is seen to have a habit of saying, "You're pretty stupid, uh?" when responding to questions he feels have obvious answers, which irritates Sherry and Tio. Sherry later pictures a typical conversation between Zeon and Dufort, where Dufort says Zeno must be "pretty stupid". In chapter 77 of the manga, it is revealed that Zeno has a Gigano spell, but he stopped Dufort before he could say it. He never used the spell, so it's unknown what the name is or what it does. In the aftermath of the manga, Zeno is seen as Zatch's advisor, attending his coronation. He is also seen threatening Zatch's former abusive caretaker, showing that he now has a larger degree of compassion for Zatch's well being.